Dealing with Difficult Days - the Yervoy and Opdivo experience

The good - I have finished my 2 remaining Yervoy treatments. 
The bad - Yervoy has some serious side effects like nausea, diarrhea and extreme fatigue.  Side effects that have lasted a few weeks now, and I'm finding that staying mentally positive and joyful is difficult when I'm feeling crappy and tired. 
The crazy - I filed paperwork and will be officially retiring in 2 months!  (more on this in a future post)

Four weeks after the last Yervoy / Opdivo infusion and I am still trying to get the side effects under control.  The fatigue has reduced the frequency and intensity of  extra activities like working out at the gym and walking the dogs, and the nausea and diarrhea are annoying as hell.  It got to the point that I didn't want to leave the house (aka the safety of a private bathroom) to go to the movies, shopping or out to dinner.  A little tip - the doggie pick-up bags from the park make good barf bags in a pinch!

I tried over the counter medicine for nausea, but it made the diarrhea worse.  I tried medicine for the diarrhea and  it made the nausea worse.  So I turned to my Oncologist.  After trying Zofran and another anti-nausea drug that Dr. C prescribed, I still had no relief, so I had to go back on steroids for a week.  After 24 hours the nausea subsided, and after 4 days the diarrhea finally let up.  Unfortunately, the steroids raised my blood pressure and I had to wind down the Prednisone sooner than planned.  Of course the nausea and diarrhea showed up again. 

So I scoured the internet and finally found the idea to try probiotics from a previous Yervoy/Opdivo patient blog post.  After a few days of eating yogurt and taking a supplement, the symptoms have subsided, so hopefully, I've turned the corner for the better on the intestinal distress. In addition, I found another patient account that described their gastro intestinal issues as subsiding after a couple of months, so hopefully I won't be tied to the bathroom any longer.

After an additional week delay, I am back to the original every two weeks for an hour Opdivo schedule.  Hallelujah!

So how do I deal with difficult days?  BADLY  I have tried breathing exercises, meditation, getting on with life while trying to ignore it all, talking about it, not talking about it, basically driving myself and those around me crazy!  I mostly just want to imitate George Carlin and go on an epic swearing rant.